This is a collection of articles on maintaining and enjoying a Lazy Daze motor home.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Exterior Paint

General
The catalyst polyurethane paint used on Lazy Daze is not Dupont Imron. It is manufactured by Cardinal Industrial Finishes, 1329 Potrero Ave. South, El Monte, CA 91733. Imron was one of the early catalyst polyurethanes to be used widely on custom autos and boats and as a result, that Imron word is almost becoming a generic description of that type of paint. Dupont would not appreciate or like that, though. Dupont Imron is much more expensive than the Cardinal paint.
Any repaint must include taking the existing finish completely off and scrupulously treating the substrate, be it aluminum or steel or fibreglass.
Alodine on aluminum and metalprep on steel are two materials I've used with success but on either, the treatment must be done 'by the book' to prevent repeated failure. Not only the prep but also the environment that is maintained while the total paint repair is accomplished, is critical. It must be maintained within specific temperature and humidity tolerances. I've seen paint failures because a vehicle was removed from the paint shop when partially painted with some primer exposed and then run back in after masking for paint of a differnt color over reaminder of primer.

I've had one side panel on our LD taken down to metal and refinished with a catalyst polyurethane paint system and decided to have the shop use the brand of paint they were most familiar with - which was neither Imron nor Cardinal. It matches just fine.
Using the Imron system: The criteria for painting aluminum was always; an acid etch/wash, followed by a wash with MEK (a solvent) then a primer coat of zinc chromate. Primer surfacer was applied and lightly sanded. The buses were blown off and wiped clean with tack rags before painting.
The Imron had to be mixed completely and set aside temporarily to start the reactive process. One of the main painting requirements was the absence of water in the air lines, a dust free environment, (a special stickifier was sprayed on the paint shop booth walls and floors) and temperature & humidity settings that followed the guidelines on the product. This was due to the fact that it's almost impossible to "fix," problems with Imron, once it's painted and cured.

Hope this info may help out, ask to look at the paint booth while your at the Mothership, look to see if the standards and housekeeping I mentioned are being followed.

Cardinal Paint Information
The Mothership sells spray cans of touch-up paint for the various Cardinal paint colors. However, they cannot be shipped and have a shelf life of only about 6 months.
Matching Cardinal-brand lacquer paint in cans is available. The last four numbers of your Cardinal Paint color should be preceded by A2028, which signifies a lacquer formulation. Depending on a specific Cardinal Industrial Finishes dealer's practices, that dealer may sell, mix to a specific Cardinal paint number, and ship to your address, lacquer paint in sizes as small as one quart. Cardinal Color Codes
You can find a complete color guide chart for Cardinal and Imron paints for LD's going back to 1974 on the LWALDRV Yahoo Group.Cardinal Industrial Finishes dealers